The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-02-04

manifestation OF me disease wonid
kill myself The idea of liyins -
watch MY own decay was soma
thing not to be thought OF for = mo
mont. We carefully debated all means
OF death, and this at last seemed ~
me the best: / would take q smes
boat and row out into the harhor
Then ! would sit on the edge of ~.
gunwale, shoot myself through ths
head and tall overheard, You prob.
ably think it strange / did not nre.
Ter morphine, or some other less viz.
lent means of death. There was M
method of ending human existence
that l did o carefully canvass, and
OF them all, / chose that which / hava
described, because it was sure, speedy
and painless.
81 think l lived ten year in tho
next twelve months. The CON.
demned murderer usually faces
death but a few weeks, and r.
the last cherishes a hope of q pardon.
or a reprieve or a new trial. Hooked
the awful certainty OF death in the
face for a year, and knew that
there was no chance OF q reprieye
from my sentence. As the year rolled
around nearly abandoned my prac.
tice and devoted myself to the society
of my family and to watching for the
first symptoms Of the disease. On
| the day when it was just q year from
my exposure l bade the family good
bye and retired to my room to wait
for the expected symptoms. They
didn't come. waited patiently, day
after day, without daring to hone.
until finallythe limit of time had been
exhausted. When | knew that there
was no longer any chance that / had
caught the disease the Joy came as
near upsetting my mind as the terror
had formerly. | don't know how |
escaped-it was little less than a mir
acle; but it was a miracle that made
a family of people wild with JOY for a
long time.
Very sad things often occur in the
ravages of leprosy. remember par.
ticularly the case OF a young and very
' pretty native woman who was the
belle of her own circle. Many OF the
natives are strikingly handsome, but
this girl was the most beautiful | have
aver seen among them. She was en-
gagged to be married to q young man
of her own race, who was a successful
and promising merchant. The two
were entirely devoted to each other,
and their affection vas a matter OF
common and gratifed comment
among their friends. The young mis-
was in the habit of calling upon ne
affianced nearly every evening. On
night he failed to appear as usual
and the next morning the young wom-
an sought him at his place OF business
to learn why. She didn't find him,
but as she was returning home
she met the daily gang Of new vic
TINS of the plague being marched
down to the wharf to GO to the island.
In the front rank she recognized her
lover. Without a moment s hesitation
she sprang from her mothers grasp,
threw her arms about her lovers neck
and, clinging to his lips, sucked his
blood. In a few months she followed
him to the island, where they lived In
each others arms until the disease
had reached that stage where sight
and feeling redestroyed. Such things
are common in that plague-ridden
land. There is no hope forths natives
that / can see. Nothing IAN stamp
out leprosy, and so nothing can save
the people. The island can. however,
be saved from the damnation OF 2
European power, and that duty lies
at the door of this country. Ihe
King smoothing more than an old, lat,
wine-drinking, poker-playing incom-
petent. When he dies Hawaiian royal
ty will die WITH him, and there are few
royalties now in the business thai can
be better spared"